Julie's Review: War and Remembrance

Author: Herman Wouk
Series: Winds of War #2
Publication Date: December 6, 2011
Publisher: Audible Studios
Length: 56 Hours 8 Minutes
Narrator: Kevin Pariseau
Obtained: purchased
Genre:  Historical Fiction
Rating: 5/5
Bottom Line: History lesson wrapped up in a family saga
Grab, Just get it at the library, or Remove from your TBR list? Grab!

Summary: Herman Wouk's sweeping epic of World War II, which begins with The Winds of War and continues here in War and Remembrance, stands as the crowning achievement of one of America's most celebrated storytellers. Like no other books about the war, Wouk's spellbinding narrative captures the tide of global events - and all the drama, romance, heroism, and tragedy of World War II - as it immerses us in the lives of a single American family drawn into the very center of the war's maelstrom. ~audible.com  

Review: I can't believe it's been a year since I listened to The Winds of War and have finally concluded War & Remembrance. This is the family saga to start and end all family sagas. It is hard to believe that one family can endure so much for so long during a war and yet so many families had every lasting scars from World War II.

The book spans from the bombing of Pearl Harbor to the surrender of the Japanese. It examines the horrors of the concentration camps through the eyes of Natalie Jastrow-Henry and her Uncle. To listen to the parts of this book it's hard to not cry or get sick. It is truly upsetting to know that other humans treated other humans with that amount of disgrace and repugnance. It is hard as someone who knows the outcome to reconcile with the fact that nothing was done sooner. I also understand that hindsight is 20/20. There were people who were calling out what was going on but no one was listening.

Mr. Wouk spends a good amount of time with the submarine battles in the Pacific. As a history lesson this is interesting and sometimes a bit long in the tooth. You can tell that it's passionate for him as an author.

As the war rages on, the Henry family experiences their own losses and changes as well. This is where Mr. Wouk succeeds wholeheartedly. He wraps the war up in their story and their story within the war.

Kevin Pariseau is the perfect narrator again. He does the voices of all the characters with perfection. He even nailed annoying Rhoda.

If you are a fan of historical fiction and haven't read The Winds of War and War & Remembrance, then you must. Yes, they are thick but they are so well worth it. I'm glad my step-dad and Jenn told me to read them!


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